WingedEagle

Names that look unlikely to survive if my list were due today: Jeff Hardy, Isamu Teranishi, Rick Rude, Seth Rollins, Mesias, Edge, Triple H, Jerry Lawler.

What does his gender have to do with his work?

Her matches never quite rise to the level that some people seem to hold her when I watch. In Japan, workers like Meiko & Io Shirai produce better on worse days, while in the states Bayley, Sasha, Charlotte and Rousey have all had higher highs. This isn't to knock her as bad or anything of the sort, but I simply don't see her as best in class anywhere she's been.

His matches with Andrade, Shingo, Ciampa (the first couple), Cole and The Revival are among the best I saw in this country over the last decade. No matter what's happened since the first Ciampa feud jumped the shark, being a vital part of that many classics locks you into my list. I've only seen bits and pieces of his work in EVOLVE and PWG so need to look at more there before I have any idea where he'll rank.

Yeah, he's absolutely a top half of the ballot guy with a pretty high ceiling. By far the biggest standout in the Dragon Gate I've seen thus far, and I've got a lot more to watch. He's been phenomenal in NJPW across G1's and BOSJs and is half of the two best matches I've seen so far this year. He was also great in the Champion Carnival a few years back.

Steamboat's matches in Japan as NWA Champion were both 3rd from the top beneath tags and/or six-man tags. One went just under 16 minutes and the other went over 10. Neither show look to have been major stops on a tour based on the building and lineups. How likely is it the crew is trying to put on a killer show in those circumstances? I'm not exactly a huge Steamboat fan but I'd like to understand why we should expect more from him or anyone in that setting.

Mania was a great even with two killer main events that left you going to bed feeling good about wrestling. Tonight's show was a very swift and rude awakening.

A wrestler that is always good and almost never boring. But I'm not sure I could point to a single classic he's been a part of. His matches against Cena and Sheamus are the first that come to mind but I wouldn't call anything with either a MOTYC. Tough for someone like that to make my list.

Someone who never clicked with me the way he did with others. I like some of the high points from Memphis but never found any of them an all-timer. Will struggle to make my list again.

A low-end WOTD candidate until coming to the States. I'm not sure where she'll rank but can't imagine I'll have many women ahead of her.

An easy top 10 pick for me this time around. Where he ranks in the top 10 will be a lot more difficult. After seeing basically he did this past decade in close to real time, I've started looking back at his work in the aughts and while I'm still early in that process its a lot better than I expected going in. Looking forward to finishing off that decade for him.

Apologies if I'm doubling up on anything Jmare already highlighted. I tried not to dig for too many B-side tracks but can certainly provide a bunch of those if people want as well. There's more than enough here to get a sense of just who Big Yuji he is and how he works. If he's not for you, you're wrong! Hope folks enjoy. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Manabu Soya & Seiya Sanada (AJPW 2/6/2011) Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Manabu Soya & Ryota Hama (AJPW 4/28/2011) Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Manabu Soya & Seiya Sanada (AJPW 6/19/2011) Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi (BJW 2/26/2012) Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (BJW 5/28/2015) Yuji Okabayashi vs. Hideyoshi Kamitani (BJW 12/20/2015) Yuji Okabayashi vs. Ryota Hama (BJW 1/24/2016) Yuji Okabayashi vs. Shuji Ishikawa (BJW 3/6/2016) Yuji Okabayashi vs. Shuji Ishikawa (BJW 5/5/2016) Yuji Okabayashi & Go Shiozaki vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Hino (Fortune Dream 3 6/14/2016) Yuji Okabayashi & Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs. Hideyoshi Kamitani & Daisuke Sekimoto & Ryota Hama (BJW 6/29/2016) Yuji Okabayashi vs. Hideyoshi Kamitani (BJW Ryogokutan 7/24/2016) Yuji Okabayashi & Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato (BJW 10/31/2016) Yuji Okabayashi & Shingo Takagi vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Kohei Sato (BJW 9/20/2017) Yuji Okabayashi & Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Hideki Suzuki & Takuya Nomura (BJW 9/22/2016) Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (BJW 1/2/2017) Hideki Suzuki vs. Yuji Okabayashi (BJW 5/5/2017) Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Kai & Naoya Nomura (AJPW 8/27/2017) Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (BJW 1/13/2019) Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama (AJPW 3/19/2019) Shuji Ishikawa vs. Yuji Okabayashi (AJPW 4/4/2019) Yuji Okabayashi vs. Daichi Hashimoto (BJW 4/14/2019) Yuji Okabayashi vs. Dylan James (AJPW 4/20/2019) Yuji Okabayashi vs. Zeus (AJPW 4/21/2019) Yuji Okabayashi vs. Kento Miyahara (AJPW 4/25/2019) Yuji Okabayashi & Kazumi Kikuta vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Takuya Nomura (BJW 6/30/2019) Yuji Okabayashi vs. Takuya Nomura (BJW 7/21/2019) Yuji Okabayashi & Hideyoshi Kamitani & Daichi Hashimoto vs. Takuya Nomura & Kohei Sato & Fuminori Abe (BJW 7/30/2019) Yuji Okabayashi & Shigehiro Irie vs. Takuya Nomura & Fuminori Abe (BJW 9/25/2019) Yuji Okabayashi vs. Daichi Hashimoto (BJW 1/2/2020) Yuji Okabayashi vs. Chris Dickinson (GCW 2/4/2020)

This week I'll get you a list at least a couple dozen matches long to check out.

He's one half of more than a few of the greatest matches I've ever seen. All-time five star classics against Tanahashi, Omega, Naito and Shibata. Top 30 feels like the floor for him.

Another lock even if you only look at his work in WXW and Progress. Haven't given him enough though to consider where'd place but he'll be there. Some recs: Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov (16 Carat Gold Finals, WXW 16 Carat Gold Night 3 3/12/2017) Walter vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (WXW 3/3/2012) Walter vs. Will Ospreay (OTT 10/13/2018) Walter vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Progress 10/28/2018) Walter vs. Timothy Thatcher (Progress Chapter 62 1/28/2018) Big Van Walter & Robert Dreissker vs. Axel Dieter Jr. & Da Mack (WXW 11/16/2013) Matt Riddle vs. Walter (Progress Chapter 46 3/26/2017) Jordan Devlin vs. Walter (OTT Wrestlerama 2 8/18/2018) Walter vs. David Starr (WXW 10/28/2017) Walter vs. Matt Riddle (WXW 16 Carat Gold Night 3 3/12/2017) Big Daddy Walter & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. reDRagon (WXW 10/4/2015) Matt Riddle vs. Walter (Progress Chapter 51 7/9/2017) Walter vs. Pete Dunne (WXW 7/22/2018) Walter & Timothy Thatcher vs. Ilja Dragunov & David Starr (WXW 8/31/2018) Walter vs. Tyler Bate (Progress 9/30/2018) Walter & Timothy Thatcher vs. The Briscoes (WXW Tag Team League Night 1 10/6/2017) Walter & Timothy Thatcher vs. Jurn Simmons & David Starr (Tag Team League Finals, WXW Tag Team League Night 3 10/8/2017) Walter & Timothy Thatcher vs. Shingo Takagi & Ilja Dragunov (PWG BOLA Night 1 9/14/2018) Walter vs. Adam Cole (EVOLVE 107 6/24/2018)

Stone cold lock for my list. No clue where, but he's been one of the best wrestlers in Japan for nearly a decade. Have always preferred him to Sekimoto.

My #1 last time. Won't fall too far if he falls at all.

I've got the first two matches at ** and **1/2 and given what those matches were it feels like this show is very much overdelivering.

A few thoughts on the opener: Bray's entrance was great. Much better than what I expected. The match was not at all what I expected, not a complete embarrassment or inoffensive until the finish. And arguably worse because of it. That finish is very much what people pay Jeffrey Epstein for. Anyways, I can't stand Nia Jax but have enjoyed her trash talking Tamina. This has been better than my incredibly low expectations.

One of the standouts of this past decade that I never got. I'll revisit him again at some point but I always saw a very good wrestler that wouldn't necessarily rise to even a bubble candidate in my book. Those who like him like him do so such a passion that I feel he deserves further consideration but he's someone who has yet to click with me in the ring.

I can't pinpoint exactly when it seemed to take place, but Kento Miyahara has become a caricature of himself. His matches are now exaggerated showcases of his personality and working the crowd rather than working any kind of actual match. He's definitely at a loss for quality opponents with Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama past their expiration dates, Naoya Nomura on the shelf having to go to the well one too many times with Zeus and Jake Lee/Shotaro Ashino not delivering as expected/hoped for. Bottom line is that whereas a couple years ago I looked forward to his big matches as potential MOTYCs now I almost dread them. Hopefully AJPW can find some fresh opponents and he can find his working shoes again rather than coasting.

Yep, if not for the weather delay this show would've ended at a reasonable hour and not burned anyone out.

"We tell stories." Drug riddled stories.

2.

Tomorrow. Even Vince isn't too far gone to book both of those travesties on the same night.